Sit down with a cup of tea and imagine the scene: there’s this large batch of dark chocolate and hazelnut macarons sitting sandwiched together with gooey ganache on a baking tray and their incredible aromas are snake-drifting around the house. Suddenly, a numbed expectant devouring silence hits the air, as my chocolate-loving teenagers and husband remember… they are NOT ready to eat just yet.

They’ve learned over time not to pinch one. Instead, it’s totally worth the wait for macarons to mature to their ultimate, crispy and fondant perfection. So, as the heavy macaron-laden box disappears in the fridge for a couple of days to perform their magic, my favourite nutty cookies come to the rescue.

Why haven’t I posted my favourite cookie recipe yet? Perhaps because, paradoxically, I make them so often. Or perhaps it has been my safely guarded secret, passed to me by our local chocolate factory. Yes, one of our neighbours a couple of blocks away was the Chocolaterie du Pecq. Alas, I say ‘was’, as they are permanently shut down following a fire that took place a couple of years ago.

Every December, they would open their doors for a few hours to the public. Us locals would queue, unusually for the French – even if it was more sideways than a normal straight British-style queue – on our allotted early morning Saturday slot. As we were tasting their latest magic (another reason for going sideways and becoming high on cacao), we’d complete our order forms for bulk packs of the most exquisite dark chocolate chips, praline, unsweetened cocoa powder and ballotins of our favourite filled chocolates.

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies – AFTER …

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies – with Toasted Nuts & Salt!

Thankfully, the chocolate factory’s recipes go on – and this is one of them. Over the years, I’ve used their original recipe, cutting down on the sugar (if it’s too sweet, how can you appreciate all the flavours in there?) but if you have a few more minutes (that’s all), take the cookies to the NEXT LEVEL and toast some hazelnuts and add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder. It’s all in the recipe below!

Have you put dark chocolate and good quality salt (fleur de sel from Brittany) together? The chocolate becomes even more intense in flavour. If you’ve never tried this before, then I urge you to give it a go. Added to these cookies, it makes them even more addictive. And speaking of salty cookies, have you tried these palets bretons, the deliciously salty butter biscuits from Brittany?

Gooey and intense in dark chocolate with toasted hazelnuts and a hint of fleur de sel salt

Next time you make a batch of chocolate macarons, just remember this quick and easy cookie recipe – and, if you have extra whites left over, then make some crunchy Tuiles or delicious buttery Financiers from my book, Teatime in Paris!

I can sense that this will be seen as “just another cookie recipe post”. Am I right? Prove me wrong and try the recipe. If you do, please tell me and rate the recipe below!

5 from 1 vote

Print

Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies

Prep Time

20mins

Cook Time

17mins

Total Time

37mins

Perfectly gooey, crumbly and intense in dark chocolate, these toasted hazelnut cookies are addictive with a touch of French fleur de sel salt to add that extra oh-la-la factor while waiting for your chocolate macarons to mature.

Course: Breakfast, Snack, teatime

Cuisine: American, French

Servings: 12cookies

Calories: 158kcal

Author: Jill Colonna

Ingredients

80g (3oz)unsalted Buttersoftened, nearly melted

50g (1.75oz)cane Sugaror Cassonade French sugar

50g (1.75oz)ground hazelnutshazelnut flour

80g (3oz)plain flourall-purpose

1tbspunsweetened cocoa powder (I use Van Houten)OPTIONAL

1egg (organic)at room temperature

1tspbaking powder

1tspsaltfleur de sel

100g (3.5oz)dark chocolate chips(good quality)

40g (1.5oz)hazelnutsOPTIONAL

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas6.

In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar until it looks a moussy mixture

Dry fry the hazelnuts for about 5 minutes over a high heat until toasted.

Add all the other ingredients and mix together using a spatula or spoon. If adding the extra toasted hazelnuts, chop them roughly or break them up in a mortar & pestle or crush them in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin.

Line a baking sheet with baking parchment or a silicone mat. Using a dessert spoon or ice cream scoop, form about 10-12 balls well spaced apart. You may need a second baking sheet, depending on the size of yours.

Turn down the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/320°F/Gas3 and bake them for 17 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Oh I DO want to try these as I just LOVE hazelnuts so much! I like both versions, possibly the non-cocoa version more! I just had company leave so once we do a big fridge clear out, I think these will be on my baking list! Thanks, Jill!

Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Recipe Rating

Bonjour! I’m Jill, a Scottish-French lass in Paris since 1992, home cook to my Corsican husband & teenage girls. Welcome to ‘le blog’ that accompanies my French patisserie recipe books, Mad About Macarons and Teatime in Paris (both Waverley Books). Enjoy twists to DO-able, easy French and Scottish recipes: from healthy family meals to simple entertaining using easy-to-find yet seasonal, quality ingredients with LESS SUGAR. Out of the kitchen, join my inspiration from top French chefs in and around Paris plus delicious discoveries on my travels.

The recipes in Teatime in Paris are very well laid out. I wish all cookbooks were this easy to follow. I also appreciate how accessible Jill makes French pastries … I adored this cookbook from start to finish.

It's not 'cos' I happened to paint the Paris pastry map endpapers, but I love this cookbook. I'd no clue I could bake but Jill's Teatime in Paris makes it easy to bake real French pastry. If I can do it so can you.

As she walks us through recipes for the easiest of treats right through to to the crème de la crème, Jill points out some of the streets famous for the best patisseries in Paris, adding bits of history and plenty of baking tips, making this a recipe tour that’s both fun and accessible.

Jill shares the best and easiest ways to make French pâtisserie classics at home, from madeleines to éclairs. While some desserts may appear hard to make, Jill breaks down each recipe with a simple step-by-step, making them more than suitable to prepare for your own teatime, wherever you may be.

Jill is very down to earth ...The recipes are written simply and with lots of tips and advice so that you can make cakes that turn out like the pictures and taste absolutely scrumptious.

Janine Marshhttps://www.thegoodlifefrance.com/win-a-copy-of-teatime-in-paris/htmlThe Good Life France

Jill’s style is light, humorous and most informative. Each recipe begins with a brief introduction, detailing its history and/or associations ... The photographs are mouthwatering, the recipes are varied and interesting; most importantly they’re actually DOABLE.

Teatime in Paris is chock full of tips, advice, references guides, clear step-by-step (recipe) instructions, and on-line stockists. For anyone who loves Paris, loves French, loves pastries, this pretty pink book is just the treat!

The book also includes a helpful chapter on baking equipment (the essential and the “little luxuries”) along with a list of stockists for ingredients and equipment in various countries. There’s also a useful “quick reference guide for egg whites”.

Jill’s pâte sucrée (sweet pastry or sweet tart dough) recipe yields the best pastry cases I’ve ever made. They’re sturdy enough for any filling, but just the right balance of crispy and tender when you bite into them. They also don’t get soggy over time.

I would love to make almost every single recipe in Teatime in Paris. This is really a feat in a cookbook as many times, I end up putting them back on the shelf when I am considering buying one, as there just aren’t enough recipes that appeal to me. Well, Teatime in Paris is a book I would buy; and many of my friends have perused the book and loved it, too.

Programmes like the Great British Bake Off have brought pastries like Paris Brest, macarons and all manner of fancy tartlets into the British consciousness as something that can be made at home. "Teatime in Paris!" gives you the tools to create these yourself and, if my experience is anything to go by, Jill's recipes make them much easier than you would think.

This pretty cookbook is as tempting as the recipes it describes, and suspect am going to earmark it as Gift of the Year for everyone I know who loves baking, eating and Paris (so that’s everyone). Rating 10/10

From cover-to-cover Jill Colonna introduces you to teatime in Paris, both as a dining experience to partake in, and as the maker of the fine delectable pastry recipes she shares. You’ll develop a base knowledge of French pastry concepts, learn how less sugar plays a supporting role, and gain confidence as a beginning baker or strengthen skills you already have.

Teatime in Paris brings the Pâtisserie to your kitchen, and no, you don't need to be a master chef to taste these treats in your own home. Thanks to Jill and her easy to follow directions - and with ingredients you probably already have in your own pantry.

It's nice to be able to impress your friends and family with a dessert that looks like it was made by a pastry chef, but I often feel those fancy French pastries are beyond my ability or available time. I had heard that chocolate pastry was really difficult to work with and ganache seems like a tricky thing to make, however nothing could be further from the truth as you can see from these Double Chocolate Tartlets from "Teatime in Paris!"